Background

Clara was born inside a tiny farmhouse in Pennsylvania. She was the youngest of seven and the only daughter. With so many mouths to feed, it was no surprise that the large family were struggling financially, but they managed. Fresh eggs and milk from their livestock and all sorts of crops were sold at local farmers' markets, and her parents made do by stretching everything as thin as possible. Her father was stern but also a kind man who was big on self-sufficiency. He taught her how to grow her own food, while her mother, a quiet and compassionate homemaker, taught her to cook and mend clothing. Clara was homeschooled until she was 16 by her mother, who focused on life skill lessons. She was taught about medicinal plants, preserving food, as well as crafting herbal teas and tinctures. At 18, she scored a job at a local farm co-op where her duties centered around harvesting and packing veggies. Though she was quiet and mostly kept to herself, Clara was known to offer tea and tinctures to any of her co-workers who started looking a bit too tired. Fast-forward to spring of 1999, when one of her brothers had come home with a bite. He was fine -- until he wasn't. By the time everyone realized the infection was spreading and taking over his body, it was already too late, he had begun to turn. But it wasn't just her brother, the neighbors started turning and attacking, too. One by one her siblings succumbed to either the brutal attacks from bloomers or the infection itself, though some of them scattered into the forest to escape. Her father did everything he could to keep the family safe, but he died defending his wife and daughter. Her mother encouraged Clara to escape while she fought back. So she ran, and ran, taking only the clothes on her back, unsure of what exactly happened to her mother or her remaining brothers. She didn't have to travel alone for long before hitching a ride on a trader caravan and making the long ride to Kentucky, taking refuge within the KQZ and being put to work inside the greenhouse for a few years. In 2009, when the KQZ fell, she followed a group of evacuees into the NQZ, having to start from zero all over again.